Grammar

  
1
 Grammar can be fun. Pupils like rules and structure.
2
 Don't do grammar in isolation. It should tie in with a relevant communicative context.
3
 Certain grammar areas can be neatly related to a particular communicative need. e.g. Modal verbs: Je voudrais sortir ce soir; mais je ne peux pas sortir; je dois aider mon père. In German: adjective endings and clothes ich trage einen blauen Pulli.
4
 We must make sure however that pupils know that grammar transcends topic areas. It is the essential cement of language. We must show that grammatical knowledge provides the short-cuts which mean we don't need to learn every utterance separately.
5
 Do plenty of work on verb-forms so that pupils can make the transition between first and third person; they should at least be able to understand the process. They should also be comfortable with the first person plural form.
6
 Use proper grammatical terms. Other subjects have their specialist vocabulary. It is essential that pupils are familiar with terms such as tenses, infinitive, past-participle, adjective and adverb.
7
 Plenty of mechanical exercises are essential to achieve grammatical confidence. Make sure you do lots of exercises which cover common areas of confusion: infinitive/past-participle; être/avoir; etc. For examples, see the minitests in the GCSE pages.
8
 These exercises can be fun and amusing. Make up practice sentences using contemporary references - film & TV characters, names of people in the class (without being offensive). This gives pupils an extra incentive to learn and perform well.
9
 Don't just resort to pen and paper tasks to teach grammar. Use word-jigsaw cards (sentences which have been cut up on card for pupils to reconstruct). Get the pupils manipulating words on the OHP.
10
 Don't feel guilty about explaining grammar in English. Life's too short to stick to the target language all the time.
11
 At GCSE, our efforts should be aimed at getting pupils to recognise and, for most pupils, to use the 3 main tenses confidently. The task can be made easier by not just concentrating on verb-forms but by constantly reinforcing adverbial phrases of time. These time-tags are essential e.g. hier soir, samedi dernier, mardi prochain, généralement etc.